Imagine. Its you’re first full day in Sierra Leone. You’re laying pool-side. Sun is all around you. Water is glistening in front of you. Adele is soothing your soul, “We could of had it all…”

And then… “WAAAAHH!!!” A baby decides to not only shatter the moment, but your entire piece of mind.

Now usually, I’d shoot a dirty look to the inconsiderate person that decided to bring a noisy baby to a private pool, on the same day I decided to come to relax– but this baby came with me. Or should I say came with my Aunt, who was part of my entourage. So I’m guilty by association. *Sigh*

Here’s the thing. My entire family decided to come together for a family reunion/vacation. And my Aunt who recently acquired a one-year-old, brought him too. Now I love my little cousin, and I was looking forward to meeting him on this trip, but I soon realized he is NOT the chill-by-the-pool-and-zone-out-kind-of-dude. In fact our 3 weeks together proved that he’s not the sit-ANYWHERE-and-chill-kind-of-dude.

And while the feminist in me screamed: “She (my aunt) deserves a vacation too!”

The child-less girl in her 20′s, that paid almost $2000 for her plane ticket screamed back: She might, but it should have been a vacation away from the crying baby!

I understand childcare is an issue, so I get it. Where she goes. He goes. And lets say its a given that she had to come… (She is family after all)… What responsibility did she (or people who travel with kids in general) have to ensure her child did not impede on the sanity of those around, who are child-less? Or was it my responsibility as a good niece/cousin to snap out of my Adele-trance and help give my aunt a break?

Well lets just say I had many “to help or not to help” moments throughout our time together, and I must say I’ve never been so grateful for my IUD!

As much as I like to travel, before this trip I probably would have done what my aunt did, and bring my baby along. But after seeing her try to handle a constantly crying baby– who was probably just frustrated by the sudden abundance of heat he was experiencing– I know now I need to see the rest of West Africa, the art scene in Berlin, do the holy land tour in Israel, the food tour in Spain, carnival in Trinidad, and ride the trains in Japan before I even consider a baby of my own.

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